Commodities

The reasons for the oil price slump and its casualties
Just 18 months ago, the oil price was over $100 a barrel. But how time has changed that.
One of the main reasons for the oil price coming under severe pressure was Saudi Arabia’s decision to flood the market with the aim of hitting shale producers in the US, says The Times.
The hardest hit from the demise of the oil price are exporters.
Take Saudi. The country can produce oil at very cheap prices, but it needs a... [read more]

The case for investing in the world’s largest mining firm
BHP Billiton [JSE:BIL] is the biggest mining company in the world. With a history spanning more than 150 years, an A+ credit rating and a good record of dividends increasing over the years, it may be worth investing in.
The company is currently trading on a handsome dividend yield of over 7% thanks in part to its lower share price. It has a market cap of over R471 billion.
Have a look at the chart below of its share... [read more]

Investing in precious metals
Gold and silver as commodities aren’t offering much in the way of investment opportunity at the moment, unless you want to buy and hold for the long run.
Since soaring following the financial crisis, gold is struggling. The strong dollar isn’t help gold or any other commodities for that matter.
But it’s prudent to hold between 5% and 10% of physical gold in your portfolio as insurance.
Gold is a safe haven in times of trouble and... [read more]

Sentiment suggests that changes are afoot for silver
The Commitment of Traders (COT) report shows what futures traders are doing with their money.
Historically, when all traders appear to agree on a specific outcome, the opposite tends to happen. Going against the COT when it’s at extreme levels can be a very profitable strategy.
At the moment, there’s an increase in open interest in silver. In fact, this is at its highest ever level, Brett Eversole in Daily Wealth... [read more]

What are commodities?
Commodities are raw materials, including the likes of…
Sugar;
Chocolate;
Precious metals (gold, silver and platinum);
Oil;
Natural gas; and
Wheat.
When you invest in commodities, you’re making a direct investment in raw materials, Tara Clarke in Money Morning US explains.
Some investors and traders buy and sell the physical commodities. This includes gold miners and oil producers.
But most investors... [read more]

The movement of the silver price is almost predictable for certain months of the year
Have a look at the chart below…
The chart shows you the monthly chart of silver performance for the past two decades, Sean Brodrick in Investment U explains.
From the chart, you can see that silver has closed at a higher price in July than it started the month 70% of the time. For August, it’s 63% and for September, it’s 68%.
Zoom in now to the past five years, and... [read more]

You need to delve deep into the commodity company
If you choose to invest in commodity stocks, you need to look at the actual operations of the commodity company. You need to weigh up things like, does the company have working mines or is it only looking for commodities to mine?
This makes a difference. If a company is just prospecting possible deposits, it will be spending a lot of money at this stage. Whereas if the company is extracting ore, at least it should be making some... [read more]

Your first step towards becoming a commodities trader
You need to open an account with a suitable metals broker. Many of these brokers will only deal with customers willing to trade in very large amounts. So you need to find a broker that will deal in the amounts you want to deal in.
Once you have opened your account, you need to decide on the type of account for you. There are two types, the research team at the Resource and Scarcity Report... [read more]

Disadvantage #1 of investing in resources shares
Buying resources shares comes with a host of risks as with any investment. You take on the risks associated with mining and any company specific risks.
These risks could put pressure on the share price and profits. There’s also the chance that the company will drill unsuccessfully or at higher costs than the company makes in return.
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Opportunity Alert:
Discover the three moves... [read more]

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"Own this hot commodity share before the end of the month, and hold on for a 108% gain!
It's not the sexiest of all the metals.
It doesn't have gold's "bling"... Or silver's sparkle.
But the point is... It's used to keep the lights on in virtually every country on the planet!
And the company I want to tell you about today is sitting on nearly R200 billion worth of the... [read more]